Jews of Algeria in Light of Modern Studies: Major Trends and New Horizons

Amina Boukail, University of Jijel-Algeria

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In this talk, Amina Boukail outlines the development of contemporary scholarship on Algerian Jews. In doing so, she offers a critical examination of contemporary research on Algerian Jews in several languages (Arabic, French, Hebrew, English, and Spanish) in order to demonstrate how scholarship on the history of Algerian Jews has been impact by and has developed in relation to certain historical processes (French colonialism, postcolonial French-Algerian relations, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the Palestinian cause).

Amina Boukail addresses a number of questions: What are the trends in recent studies on the topic of Jews of Algeria? How do other factors impact the writing of Algerian Jewish history? What are some new interdisciplinary avenues of exploration on this topic? Are there sufficient studies compared to the studies that deal with the Jews of Tunisia or Morocco? What topics still remain taboo when it comes to the history of Jews in Algeria?

Her review of the principal currents in the study of Algerian Jews is divided into two sections: First, the study of Jews in Algeria in France, the United States, and Israel; second, the study of Jews in Algeria in Algerian universities.

Amina Boukail is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Jijel in Algeria. She received her Doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Annaba in 2016. Her current research interests include: Arabic Medieval literature; Cultural Contacts in Medieval Iberia; Cultural Minorities in the Arab world; Hebrew Cultures in North Africa; Sephardic Literature and Judeo-Arabic Heritage in Algeria; Muslim-Jewish relations in Algeria; Colonialism and Literature.